In honor of Herb Caen, The Chronicle is reprinting some of his most memorable columns this week. This one appeared April 2, 1958. In it he coined the term word "Beatnik."

WORDS, WORDS, WORDS: Press release, dated March 31, from the S.F. Chamber of Commerce: "Officers or employees of the City of San Francisco should be local residents, according to a statement unanimously adopted by directors of the S.F. Chamber of Commerce. 'San Francisco provides cultural and community facilities not surpassed anywhere in the United States,' said President Alan K. Browne. 'Housing is of high quality and variety and rental units of all types are available.' "

The above hotflash was prepared and distributed by the Chamber's publicity mgr., James D. Warnock, who lives at 3602 Bryant. In Palo Alto.

IN ONE EAR: Matson's big Mariposa sailed back into S.F. Bay this wk. minus one crew member -- a 42-yr-old S.F. waitress, who, in a fit of despondency, leaped overboard bet. Auckland and Sydney; the ship searched for six hrs. with no luck . . . Pat Suzuki, the S'Jose Japanese singer who's now a smash on records, is about to get her Big Break; she'll play the lead -- a Chinese doll -- in Rodgers & Hammerstein's B'way musical based on "Flower Drum Song," the best-seller by Sausalito's C. Y. Lee . . . Whaddever happened to Fortnight magazine??? . . . Pat Cosgrove, who pilots a Lo-Fare Cab in Oakland, is still going around in a doozy of a daze. Sun. night, a guy named Gene Guthrie (with a doll) piled into his hack and ordered, "Reno, please." Pat delivered 'em to the door of Harrah's Club and collected his fare: $125, plus $15 tip.

BUSINESS NOTE: There were only 10 customers for the midnight show in one of our bigger jernts Monday, prompting the star to sigh: "I hope it's only the recession. I'd hate to think it's ME!"

BAY CITY BEAGLE: Over 400 of Billy Graham's followers -- wherever he goeth, they dittoeth -- will come to S.F. by special train from Nashville, Tenn., for the opening of their boy's Crusade at the Cow Palace April 27 . . . Lee Ann "Miss America" Meriwether, who weds B'way actor Frank Aletter here April 20, hopes she'll be in shape by then; meanwhile, she's bedded down at home with The Bug . . . Pfun on the Pfuninsula: That prominent El Camino character who's running for S'Mateo Supervisor has 30 signatures on his nominating papers. Among the first to sign (oh, the poor, blind pfool): the big S'Mateo politico whose wife is the character's girl friend! Glug . . . More pfun: Atherton's Judy Petersen, the million-dollar divorcee, went out of town last wk-end and needed a baby-sitter. Got one: her ex-husband, Merlin . . . Add nize gestures: Edward G. Robinson's "Middle of the Night" folded for keeps here last wk-end -- and the producers gave the expensive set to S.F.'s Actors Workshop, free for nothin'.

BUSINESS AS USUAL: Despite the four items that could kill any night club -- recession, Lent, rain, income tax -- the Mary Kaye Trio is jamming Fack's II every night, which is only right; Maryvelous, Kayelossal, Triomphant . . . Roberta Ruebush, a waitress at Lotta's Fountain in the Palace, bought a pedometer at Abercrombie & Fitch -- and now she and her sister slaves take turns wearing it; champ to date: Waitress Phyllis Sjursen, who clocked 11 miles on her 7 1/2-hr. shift . . . Look magazine, preparing a picture spread on S.F.'s Beat Generation (oh, no, not AGAIN!), hosted a party in a No. Beach house for 50 Beatniks, and by the time word got around the sour grapevine, over 250 bearded cats and kits were on hand, slopping up Mike Cowles' free booze. They're only Beat, y'know, when it comes to work . . . Norm Corlett, Spreckels-Russell sales mgr., thinks the new Bayshore Freeway is terrific: "It gets me to the traffic jams so much FASTER."

OLD-TIMER: S. F.'s Kathy Randall, a U'Airlines stewardess, was put in charge of a 5-yr-old boy flying alone to Lozangeles. At takeoff time, she strapped him into the seat alongside hers and, as they began zooming down the runway, asked: "Have you ever flown before?" . . . "Once," he ans'd laconically, "when I was a kid."

THE THINGS YOU SEE: At El Matador, a visiting celebrity inscribing his name -- Daniel David Kominsky -- in the autograph book; a little better known as Danny Kaye . . . A pair of distinguished Stage Door Juans -- Maestro Enrique Jorda and Novelist Mark Schorer -- waiting at the S.F. Ballet School to pick up their dolls: their dghtrs, Karen Jorda and Suki Schorer . . . At a tete-a-table for two in Place Pigalle: Heiress Dolly Fritz and the Marines' Rory Kelham (Bruce's boy), proving spozzible to hold hands and eat at the same time . . . Model Yvonne Lewis, driving to work in a '53 Rolls-Royce. Her very own. A gift from her ebber-lubbin' hubby, Mel Lewis . . . Hundred-yr-old poster (on display at the Calif. Historical Society) for San Francisco College, "situated in the suburbs of San Francisco on a planked road." Its address: Bush, between Mason and Taylor!

ADD INFINITEMS: Writer J. P. Cahn bought an expensive shirt at the White House, read the label when he got home -- "Handmade in India. Guaranteed to Fade" -- and screamed right back to the clerk, who sniffed: "Supposed to. Fades to a gawjus muted shade." The first fading was done by Cahn . . . Bill Clark has the word for the new rage in women's fashions: Chemiserable . . . Ralph Herrero thinks it's just terribly amusing that "The Young Lions" is opening at the Fox. Doesn't break me up, either, but let's not be mean to old Ralph, eh?

CONFESSION: Comedian Lenny Bruce, who opened last night at Ann's 440 on B'way, confides: "I'm just like everybody else. I want to be a non- conformist, too!"